My thoughts on the Phillies season.

Phils come from behind to defeat the Reds, 9-6, winning their second straight series at home.

The Phils come from behind to win their second straight series at home, and the sixth game in a so far very successful home stand, as they defeat the Reds, 9-6.

The Reds took an early lead in the second as, with two men on base, and nobody out, Edwin Encarnacion hits a two-run triple, scoring Ramon Hernandez, who had earlier walked and had gone to second on Jonny Gomes’ single, and Gomes, who had just singled, to give the Reds a 2-0 lead. Two batters later, with one man on, and one man out, Reds’ starter Micah Owings hits a sacrifice fly, knocking in Encarnacion, giving the Reds a 3-0 lead. The Phils gets two of the runs back in the third. With two men out, Chase Utley hits an inside-the-park solo home run, his twentieth home run of the year, cutting the Reds’ lead to 3-1. Two batters later, with a runner on second, Jayson Werth hits an RBI double, knocking in Ryan Howard, who had earlier doubled, making it 3-2 Reds. The Reds made it 4-2 in the fourth, as, with two men out, Encarnacion hits a solo home run, his second home run of the year. The Phils would tie the game at four-all in their half of the fourth, as, with two men on, and two men out, Shane Victorino hits a two-run single off of the glove of Reds’ second baseman Brandon Phillips, knocking in Carlos Ruiz, who had earlier singled, had moved up to second on Phils’ starter Jamie Moyer’s sacrifice bunt, 5-4, and then went to third on Jimmy Rollins’ single, and Rollins, who had earlier singled, and then stole second base. The Reds regained the lead in the fifth as, with a man on, and two men out, Phillips redeemed himself by hitting a two-run home run, his fourteen home run of the season, scoring Chris Dickerson, who had earlier singled, and then stole second as Joey Votto struck out swinging, making it a 6-4 Reds lead. The Phils would then come back in their half of the fifth. With two men on, and one man out, Pedro Feliz hits an RBI bloop single, knocking in Howard, who had earlier walked, and had moved to second base on Greg Dobbs’ walk, cutting the Reds’ lead down to 6-5, while sending Dobbs over to third base. Pinch hitter Matt Stairs then walked, loading the bases as Feliz moved up to second base. Pinch hitter Paul Bako then hits a grounder to first. The Reds’ first baseman Votto threw to second base, forcing out Stairs for the inning’s second out, 3-6. But, Bako beats out Reds’ shortstop Paul Janish throw back to first, while allowed Dobbs to score the tying run, making it a six-six ballgame, while Feliz moved up to third. The Phils then took the lead as Rollins hits an RBI single, scoring Feliz, giving the Phils a 7-6 lead, while sending Bako on to third base. Victorino followed with a walk, reloading the bases as Rollins moved up to second. With Utley batting, Reds’ reliever Daniel Ray Herrera uncorked a wild pitch, allowing Bako to score, making it an 8-6 Phils’ lead, while Rollins went to third, and Victorino moved up to second base. The Phils would add an insurance run in the sixth as, with one out, Werth hits a solo home run, his twentieth home run of the season, and his fourth home run of the series, giving the Phils a 9-6 lead. That would be the final score as Brad Lidge would record his seventeenth save as he put down the Reds in the ninth.

Jamie Moyer received the victory as he pitched five innings, giving up six runs on eight hits and a walk, while striking out only two. His record is now 8-6, as he recorded his 254th career win, tying him for 41st place on the all-time wins list with Hall of Famer Red Faber and Jack Morris, and putting him pass Hall of Famer Carl Hubbell, with an ERA of 5.99. Chan Ho Park pitched three scoreless inning, recording his sixth hold, as he gave up only a walk, while striking out four. Brad Lidge recorded his seventeenth save, as he pitched a scoreless ninth, giving up only a walk, while striking out two. Micah Owens took the lost, as he pitched only four and one-third innings, giving up seven runs on eight hits and four walks, while striking out only one batter. His record is now 6-9 with a 4.94 ERA. Josh Roenicke pitched a third of an inning, giving up a run on a walk. Daniel Ray Herrera pitched an inning, giving up a run on two hits, a walk and a wild pitch, while striking out one. Robert Manuel, making his major league debut, pitched an inning and a third, giving up no runs on one hit and a walk, while striking out two. Carlos Fisher pitched a scoreless inning, giving up only a walk, while he struck out one.

The Phils had twelve hits in the game, with Jimmy Rollins, Chase Utley, Jayson Werth and Pedro Feliz each collecting two hits, with one of Utley’s hits being an inside-the-park home run, while Werth’s hits were a double and a solo home run. Shane Victorino, Ryan Howard, Carlos Ruiz and Chan Ho Park got the other four Phils’ hits. Beside Werth’s two RBIs and Utley’s one, Victornio knocked in two runs, while Rollins, Feliz, and Bako knocked in a run each. The Phils’ offense will be trying to continue knocking in runs as they face one of the worst teams in the National League, the Pirates.

The Phillies (45-38, 1st National League East) will conclude their successful home stand with a three-games weekend series with the Pirates (38-47, 5th National League Central), as they prepare for the All-Star break. The game will begin at 7:05 pm Eastern and will be played at Citizens Bank Park. The Phils’ starter will be Joe Blanton (5-4, 4.69), who is coming off a win against the Mets on July 5, as he outpitched Johan Santana, giving up no runs on four hits and three walks, as he struck out five in seven and a third innings of shut out ball, in the Phils 2-0 win. He will be trying for his sixth win of the year, while hoping to pitched his eighth quality start in his last nine starts. The Pirates will counter with Zach Duke (8-7, 3.28), who is coming off a lost against the Marlins on July 4, as he pitched six innings, giving up four runs on eight hits and three walks, while striking out five, in the Pirates’ 5-3 lost. He will be trying to end his personal two-game losing streak while trying to see if he can slow down the presently red hot Phils. The Phils will be going for their third straight series win, while trying to increase their lead in the National League East.

Meta

The following are trademarks or service marks of Major League Baseball entities and may be used only with permission of Major League Baseball Properties, Inc. or the relevant Major League Baseball entity: Major League, Major League Baseball, MLB, the silhouetted batter logo, World Series, National League, American League, Division Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Game, and the names, nicknames, logos, uniform designs, color combinations, and slogans designating the Major League Baseball clubs and entities, and their respective mascots, events and exhibitions.